The present invention generally relates to the art of barbecuing, and, more particularly, to the use of wood chips in a barbecue to enhance flavor of barbecued foods.
It has been long known that the taste of barbecued food can be enhanced by adding wood chips to the barbecue coals. It is also known that more pronounced flavors can be obtained by first soaking the wood chips in water, or other mixtures, such as water and beer, before adding them to the fire. The soaking causes the wood chips to smolder rather than burst into flames, thereby generating more smoke for flavoring the food. The food flavoring effects of smoking can be altered by changing the wood of the wood chips. For example, heavy woods, like mesquite and pecan wood, have a stronger smoke flavor than fruit woods.
Heretofore, wood chips have conventionally been soaked in fluid-filled containers, and then removed by hand to the barbecue coals, or poured onto the barbecue coals after the fluids have been poured out of the containers. A need exists for an improved way of soaking wood chips, and placing them on barbecue coals.